Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Mr.L's Letter To RNC Chairman Reince Priebus

As a lifelong conservative Republican
living in New York, I am disillusioned with the Republican Party. Once
again, it seems the party is not
listening to the conservative base. It is evident that the GOP will nominate another moderate, Gov. Mitt
Romney, resulting in losing to Pres. Barack Obama and the Democrats in November
of 2012.

I am what you would call one of
these voters who make up roughly 5-10% of the electorate. We’re engaged, well versed on the issues,
candidates, and follow the process very closely. We do not show up to the voting booth in November to play “eenie meenieminey.”

On February 24th, The Hill published an article by Cameron
Joseph reporting that the RNC—the chairs, committeemen, donors—are
considering changing the primary rules yet again to avoid a possible brokered
convention scenario in Florida this summer.

Let me get this straight; the RNC first changed rules last year in order
to prolong the system so lesser known, more conservative, non-establishment candidates
would have more of a chance in the primaries.
Really, that was nice of
you. Except for the fact that Gov.
Romney insists on running a scorched Earth campaign. He continues to pour record amounts of money
into unscrupulous attacks against anyone in the field who poses a threat to his front runner
status.

And now, since you fear a
possible delegate deadlock and looming talk of brokered convention, the RNC
seeks to change the rules back so that you can make it easier for Gov. Romney
to wrap up the nomination before the Spring. Insanity.
Sen. John McCain benefited from these rules in 2008. He wrapped up the nomination in March of that
year and what happened? Republican
voters soured on Sen. McCain and it’s likely the same will happen to Gov. Romney
should he get the nomination.

Contrary to the popular belief of
the GOP establishment, Gov. Romney is not the most electable. If he was, he wouldn’t have lost three states
to Sen. Santorum. He wouldn’t have lost Iowa,
a state where he sank millions of campaign and advertising dollars over the years. Same goes for the Michigan primaries, where Gov.
Romney almost lost in his home state.

I realize that the battle cry of
those in the GOP chain of command—the committeemen, chairmen, donors—who say that we should all get
the nomination process done ASAP so we can begin pulling the party together and
raise money. That’s nice, but that’s the
way it has been done for decades. How has
that approach worked out?

In 1976, the strategy preferred
by the establishment shunned Ronald Reagan, producing Gerald Ford. Ford lost to Carter. In 1996, this strategy produced Bob Dole. Dole lost to Clinton. In 2000, this strategy produced George W.
Bush. If not for fierce legal defense,
Al Gore would’ve been president. In
2008, this strategy produced John McCain.
If it had not been for the vice presidential nomination of Gov. Sarah
Palin, McCain would’ve suffered a loss not seen since the campaign of Sen.
Barry Goldwater in 1964.

Mr. Chairman, the old rules,
strategies and conventional wisdom is not working. If the Republican Party wants to win against
Pres. Obama this fall— and I’m uncertain the party really is
interested in winning—something drastic and unconventional has to be done.
Not only to save the country, but to save the party as well.

You are aware that chatter of a brokered convention is reaching a fever pitch. In several polls, an overwhelming number of
voters seek a late entrant who is
not currently running to jump in
because they see a lack of excitement surrounding all of the candidates in the
field.

Gov. Sarah Palin is the only one
for the job. Admit it. The GOP were less than a welcoming
committee when she was thinking about running for POTUS. Yes, she announced
she wouldn’t run at this time. So did
Gov. Christie, Gov. Daniels and Rep. Ryan.
All of them have refused. Yet, their
names are floated as late entrants by establishment figures. Gov. Palin is the only one who hasn’t shunned
the idea of a brokered convention and has not ruled out offering herself up in
the name of service if such a scenario should play out.

Many in the Republican Party
continue to marginalize her. Many of you
call her a “quitter” because she resigned
as Governor. That would hurt her chances, you say. Three governors were in the 2012 field, one
still in office and two who completed full terms. How did it work for them? Two of them dropped out of the race because
they couldn’t consistently poll out of the single digits. The other is the current frontrunner who
can’t consistently poll over 30% nationally.

Many in the Republican Party establishment believe Sarah Palin is
irrelevant. Let me remind you of the
2010 elections. Palin led conservatives
in the fight against Obama, Reid and Pelosi’s destructive policies. Palin had 67% success rate in getting
republicans that she endorsed elected into office.

Tell me, what other Republican can claim such an accomplishment?

Sarah Palin is a politician
willing to govern on constitutional
conservative principles. She has been
thoroughly vetted through the years. She has the correct supply side and
pro-growth economic policies that this country so desperately needs. She understands the importance of energy
self-reliance through drilling for oil and gas.
She can easily excite the base, one that suffers from an acute case of
campaign fatigue. She has the ability to
unite social, fiscal, tea party conservatives, evangelicals—many who feel they
have to hold their noses and vote for moderate in every election. There are millions of her supporters who are
willing to walk over broken glass for her.

In closing, the RNC should avoid
changing the rules and allow the primary process to play out. Sarah Palin
should be the only republican politician considered as a candidate in a
brokered convention. The rest are unacceptable.